Chris' Legacy
by newbiepeanut
Summary: Fifteen years after arriving in Four Corners, Chris reflects on how his life, and the life of his 'brothers' have changed. contains some character bashing of Mary, if you don't like that, please don't read.


Chris Larabee leaned back, tipping the chair onto two legs and resting the chair against the wall of the house. The habit, a terrible one he told his boys when they caught him doing it, was one he learned from Vin. The movement stretched his back and leg muscles and he groaned at the sharp pain.

He was getting too old for this crap!

Not that he would ever admit that to anyone, especially his boys. He had spent the majority of yesterday trying to break a green colt, only the damn horse had thrown him off, more than once. Nothing was broken, a fact verified by Nathan. He had finally settled a saddle on the damn beast and rode it, but it had come at a price. This morning, he felt every one of his fifty-five years as abused muscles protested his every move.

In fact, those muscles were what had driven him from bed this morning, when a cramp in his leg woke him up. He had worked the cramp out but couldn't go back to bed. The truth of the matter was, he needed less sleep then ever, and preferred to rise early.

This was the best time of the day, a fact he had been trying to teach Ezra for the last fifteen years. Chris took a sip of coffee from the mug he held in his hand and smiled, thinking of the ongoing argument he and the Southern gambler still had going.

_"You get up after six, you miss half the day, Ez."_

_"I can assure you, Mr. Larabee, I miss nothing."_

It made him smile now, rather than grimace, when the other man called him Mr. Larabee. Ezra only did it when annoyed, or teasing. Who would have thought that the conman would have become one of his best friends, as close as a brother? Chris sure as hell wouldn't have.

The truth is, Chris mused, he hadn't even expect to live this long. Hadn't wanted to. When he had ridden in Four Corners, he had been looking for nothing more than a drink and maybe a card game. He hadn't expected to save a man from a lynching, or an Indian Village from a group of disgruntled ex-soldiers. He sure as hell hadn't expected to become a lawman, gain six new brothers and build a new life for himself.

He looked out across the land in front of him, seeing the corrals and the huge barn that sat across from the house. If he looked East, he would see the bunk house and more fencing that laid out where the garden was. Further out, towards the West, but beyond his eyesight, stood the house that Vin had built, along with his corral.

If he looked to the North, Chris knew he would see the big pine that marked the family graveyard. Sarah lay to rest there, as did his sweet little boy Adam. He put the coffee mug down and brought the chair flat, leaning forward to fold his hand together like he was saying a prayer. Maybe he was.

Truth be told, he still missed Sarah something fierce, as he did Adam. But Josiah and his parables were right. Time healed wounds but the scars remained, pulling with pain sometimes. When he had built back on this place, on the site of where his family had died, he hadn't meant to rebuild, to make a legacy. Nobody to leave it for, so why bother? All he had really needed was a place to lay his head and get drunk. Then things changed. Four Corners happened. Mary Travis happened.

He knew he shouldn't be thinking of Mary, not today. Today was suppose to be a celebration. His boys were turning twelve, on the road to becoming men. It was a good day. But, like most things in Chris' life, the day had a twinge of sorrow to it.

Mary Travis couldn't be bothered to return to Four Corners to celebrate the birth of her twin boys. She remained in Virginia until next week, too busy trying to build political favor and bring railroad lines to the newly formed state of Colorado.

Chris shifted, settling back into his chair. He wondered what he had ever seen in the blond. Truth be told, he guessed he thought she was a little like Sarah. He snorted at the thought, feeling guilty.

Mary was nothing like Sarah! Sure, they were both feisty and fought for what they believed in. The thing is, Sarah believed in Chris, in family, in Adam, in love. All the things that made life worth living.

Mary, on the other hand, believed in ideals. Chris should have know, seeing how willing Mary was to be separated from Billy. Sarah would never have left Adam to stay in a dying town and run a newspaper. But Mary had, sending her son away. And Sarah never would have done what Mary did, tricking Chris into bed and getting pregnant.

Chris snorted again, grabbing his mug and taking a swallow of his now cold coffee. He barely remembered the night the boys were conceived. It had been right after that damn assassin tried to kill Mary. She had come to him, to thank him for saving her life.

It hadn't been him, but Ezra that nearly died, jumping in front of a bullet for Mary. But he had taken the thanks, and the whiskey she brought. They had shared a few drinks, and wasn't that a shock. Then tumbled into bed. It hadn't been their first time but, truth be told, Chris didn't enjoy it much. Being with Mary felt like cheating, not like being with the girls in Purgatorio. They meant nothing, nameless, faceless whores who filled a need. But Mary wanted more, needed more, expected more.

When she had come to him, a few weeks later, and told him she was pregnant, his first reaction was anger. He didn't want to be a father again, didn't need to the pain, the sorrow. No new baby could replace his Adam. And he sure as hell hadn't wanted to get married again!

But he had done the right thing, the moral thing. And that's when things really started to change. When he told Buck and the boys why he was getting married, they hadn't reacted badly. Instead, Josiah married them and then, the rest swung into action. The next thing he knew, the small shack he called home was being transformed into a house. He complained about the changes, cringing at the thought of another house being built on the land that had been his and Sarah's.

_"You can't expect your new bride and baby to live in a shack Chris," Buck had told him late one night, over drinks in the Saloon. "It ain't right and you know it. Sarah would want you to be happy. So would Adam. Honor their memory, but live again. Do right by Mary and the baby. Make Sarah and Adam proud."_

Buck's words had hit home. He would honor their memory, in a way he never had before, by being a good father and husband. Or so he had thought. Mary had different ideas.

Apparently, being married to 'the bad element' sounded good in her fantasies but not so good in reality. Mary refused to take his name, didn't want to move out of town, didn't want to give up being a newspaper lady. He should have known there would be problems when the babies came when she refused to send for Billy.

She had told him that being pregnant and having Billy underfoot would be too much. Chris, however, stood his ground and convinced the Judge to send Billy home when the house was done being built. Mary paid little attention to the boy but he thrived under the attention of the seven peacekeepers.

When the boys were born (and weren't the twins a surprise), Mary had been quick to wean them. Really, the only one not surprised by Mary's behavior seemed to be Ezra. The man could read people like a book and he had told Chris, years after the boys birth, that Mary reminded him of Maude.

Had Ezra told him that earlier, Chris would've decked the man. But the truth was, Mary turned out to be just like Maude. Only her passion remained pushing the idea of statehood. To that end, she decided, when the boys were weaned, she needed to head East, to the Capital.

Chris let her go. But the boys stayed behind. Bucklin Josiah and Vincent James. Mary had wanted the name Stephen but he refused to name HIS son after her dead husband. With Mary gone, Chris had to hire a woman to help out with the boys.

To his surprise, Ezra suggested one of the girls from Wickes town, a Nora Smith. Seems she had gotten in a family way and needed a new start. Chris hadn't asked why Ezra knew that but instead, agreed to meet her. Turns out she was perfect. Sweet, friendly, and great mother and cook. He had been afraid Buck would seduce her, but he didn't have to worry on that front.

Buck had set his sights on finally wooing Inez and settling down. A miracle in itself. Inez finally let Buck catch her and they settled together, building themselves a small place just to the North of Chris' land. Only, they didn't live there now. Billy and his wife Olivia did.

Buck lived with Chris and boys. Buck and his little girl, Rosa Sarah. Inez, well, she lay to rest next to Sarah, in the family cemetery. Chris had gotten his chance to repay Buck for helping him survive the loss of his family. It was debt he would have happily left unpaid, just to keep his friend from feeling that same pain.

Buck, though, had come through that time with his incredible will and strength intact. Funny thing, though. He never returned to his wild ways, settling down at the ranch and never glancing at another woman.

Oh, he flirted and smiled. Helped newcomers with their bags, laughed at their jokes. But he never bedded a single one. He had told Chris, one night after tucking in Rosa, why.

_"I never thought about it, Chris. All those woman.. Every single one of them was someone's daughter, someone's little girl. No wonder so many angry daddies came after me. Just the thought of some boy defiling my girl like that… Well, it ain't right. Not to mention, I ain't dishonoring Inez that way."_

Yep, things changed. Now, when they were feeling lonely, touched starved, him and Buck just turned to each other. He loved Buck but he wasn't in love with him and he knew Buck felt the same way. It was just comfort. Of course, he was single again, thanks to Ezra and the newest circuit judge, so it wasn't dishonoring to Mary either.

Mary, who had returned from Virginia after a five year absence, surprised to find so many people mad at her. Chris had made friends in town, and few folks appreciate mothers who abandoned their children.

Mary decided she wanted to make amends, make her marriage right. Mostly, she just wanted to remake a name for herself as one of the founders of Four Corners, the newspaper woman who helped Colorado achieve statehood. But she had shown up in town with a fancy, well heeled man that seemed overly familiar with her. Chris figured out pretty quick the man was more than a 'friend.' Mary had cheated on him.

It had taken everything he had not to shoot the man, or slap Mary. Ezra, however, came up with a better solution. Divorce. Chris almost hadn't agreed. While he was mad at Mary, he didn't want to brand her an adulteress, for fear it would affect the boys. Ezra agreed and suggested that he file for divorce based on her leaving Four Corners. After all, she had been gone for five years, without a single letter or telegram. Chris hadn't even known she was alive.

So divorce it was. The new circuit judge, Judge Richards, appointed when Judge Travis retired, granted the divorce, despite Mary's protests. Mary then tried to take the boys, citing the fact that Chris had an ex-whore caring for her children as the reason. Judge Richards, in a rather uncommon move, disagreed with Mary. If Mary had been that concerned about her children's welfare, she never would have left. As far as the judge was concerned, if Mary wanted to get to know the boys, she could stay in Four Corners.

She had, for three months. Then, she was gone again and, truth be told, Chris was mighty glad to see the back of her. The boys had no clue who she was and hid from her and her fancy boyfriend, a fact that Mary hated. Too damn bad. Even Billy ignored his Mama, preferring the company of Nora and Casey, JD's wife.

A sound from the house brought Chris back from his musings and he turned, wondering who was up. Buck emerged from the house, clutching another mug, along with coffee pot. He didn't say anything but simply nodded his head and gestured with the pot.

Chris held up his mug for refill and took a drink, relishing the smooth heat. Buck settled into the chair next to him and finally spoke.

"Goin' be a good day."

"Yep."

"Boys were so excited last night I'm surprised they slept. 'Course, having them clean all the stalls probably helped with that," Buck said, smiling before he took a sip of his own coffee.

"Serves 'em right. It'll take forever to get the smell of that polecat out of the bunkhouse. Lucky it's summer and we can open the windows up."

Now that the two culprits were gone, still sleeping, both men could give into the humor of the situation. Memories of big, hardened cowboys spilling out of the bunkhouse, followed by a tiny little polecat and terrible smell, made them chuckle loudly. After few minutes, both settled down, taking a sip of their coffee at the same time.

"Reminds me of when Vin, JD, and Ez let a polecat lose in the bathhouse. You looked mighty funny tumbling out that door wearing nothing but a white towel and your gun." Buck grinned at the memory.

"I seem to remember you walking down the street in a towel a time or two, thanks to the three of them." Chris smirked and then wondered why Buck was suddenly sporting an evil grin.

"Just be glad, Big Dog, that you only got two trouble makers upstairs, not three. Can you imagine if there was another one of them boys? Course, you got to wonder, who showed them how to catch a pole cat in the first place?"

"Vin." Both men said, at the same time, and then shuddered. If Vin was involved, Ezra wasn't far behind. Chris groaned. He didn't need those troublemakers teaching his troublemakers anything! They were going to be the death of him, all of them!

Chris settled back in his chair, sipping his mug of coffee and finished watching the Sun rise. Yep, he thought, glancing over at Buck, who sipped contently from his own mug, they would be the death of him. Buck, Josiah, JD, Vin, Ezra, and Nathan. Now his own boys, Buck's girl, JD's kids, Nathan's and Josiah's little 'uns. A family of troublemakers intent on driving him to drink. But what a way to go!

Notes:

I never liked Mary Travis. Sorry. But I hope that this is a good view of what might have been over 15 years of change. Again, all mistakes are mine, as I have no Beta. The men, and TV series, however are not. Darn it!


End file.
